Diamonds are forever (or maybe just until 2050)

In June Lynn and Mary from Mappin & Webb came into our West Malling office to give an update to our High Net Worth department on industry trends and valuations.

“We feel it is important to keep insurers and brokers updated with the current industry trends as this affects the values of the items their customers own and so they can advise if they feel items may be under-insured” Mary says, “Most policyholders will be unaware, for example, that a natural 1.00ct vivid pink diamond may have risen in value by approximately 115% over the last five years depending on its quality.”

During their visit, Lynn and Mary bought in with them some luxurious pieces of jewellery which included:

• A £35,000 diamond cuff from the Mappin & Webb Empress collection which contains a total of 5.42ct diamonds and 6.10ct blue sapphires. 
• A 2 face Jaeger Le Coultre Reverso watch with an 18ct rose gold case – it is known as the ‘day and night’ as it has a plain ivory dial for day wear and a black dial with diamond set case on the reverse for ‘dressing up’.
• The lowest value piece in the collection was the £3,730 Messika Move 0.58ct necklace with three moving diamonds in a diamond set slide.

Marilyn Monroe once sang “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend”, but unfortunately they might not be for that much longer! Not only are there plans in place for the Argyle mine in Australia (a mine that currently produces 90% of the world’s pink diamonds) to close in 2021, but there is also a prediction that by 2050 there will be a world shortage of diamonds all together. So where does that leave people who currently either own some diamonds or are looking to invest? Well, it leaves them in a good position. Mary explains that “Diamonds can be a good investment as they tend to hold their price, rather than the spikes we see with the price of gold, and with a predicted shortage they will continue to increase in value.”  

At the same time the song was made famous, so was that necklace worn by Marilyn Monroe in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and this trend of film and television having an effect on the jewellery market hasn’t changed, even 63 years later. In recent cinematic history there have been pieces of jewellery that will always be remembered; take the beautiful ‘Heart of The Ocean’ blue-diamond necklace in Titanic for example (yes, we’re still upset that Rose dropped it in the ocean!) However more recently, programmes like Netflix’s The Crown and Sky Atlantic’s Riviera are ones that, as Mary explained during the talk, get the public visiting showrooms.

So whether it’s through a television programme, a film or just a spike in the market we suggest that owners make sure their jewellery and watches are regularly valued to ensure that they are fully covered in the event of loss, theft or damage, and if everything is looked after properly, then as Dame Shirley Bassey says your “diamonds are forever, forever, forever.”

*To find out more about Mappin & Webb, visit their website: https://www.mappinandwebb.com/

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